A Little Political History

I've been noticing that my facebook friends are a varied lot. Some are highly educated, some are from the four corners of the world, and others are young people trying to make sense of the world. Politically, my friends are all over the map, so I thought I would give a little history of how I got to the place that I am, from a political perspective.

During the 60s, I was at Knox College in Illinois, studying physics. This was the height of the Vietnam war protests and was part of Timothy Leary's "Tune in, Turn On, Drop Out" generation. We had a front row seat to the 68 Chicago convention, with the ensuing protests and riots.  It was a turbulent time to grow up.

My first presidential election vote was for McGovern in 1972.  Probably everyone in my college class voted for McGovern because we wanted out of the Vietnam war.  McGovern lost, but Nixon, by hook or by crook, did get us out of Vietnam, and young Americans finally stopped dying in the remote jungles of Vietnam.

Next up was Jimmy Carter in 1976.  Carter was a Naval officer, nuclear engineer and Baptist Sunday school teacher.  Surely he knew what was best for America!  Unfortunately, though he had the best of intentions for America, he turned out to be a lousy president.  After gas lines, inflation and  national embarrassment by the Iranian hostage takers, I learned that it takes more than good intentions to be a great American president.  Thankfully, Reagan won the next election and Carter was free to be an excellence ex-presidential spokesman for Habitat for Humanity.  He's a great guy with a hammer in his hand and a mouth full of nails.

The Reagan-Bush years were a time for my family to grow and prosper.  I didn't pay much attention at the time, but was thankful that the country seemed to be on the right track.

Bill Clinton ran for president after that.  I was not a big fan of Clinton, though many of my Knox classmates were enthusiastic supporters.  I didn't agree with most of his policies, but did think that he had America's best interest at heart.  He had some serious flaws, some of which he was impeached for, but had the political savvy to beat the rap and was able to work with Newt Gingrich and  the Republican House to actually  accomplish some good things for America.

George W. Bush- I'm sure many of my friends will disagree with my thoughts on W, but can we at least agree that he kept the country together at a time of national tragedy after 9/11?  Whatever you think of his record on policy, he was a patriotic American that did what he though best for our country.

That brings us to Obama.  Over the years, I've voted for Republicans and for Democrats, but even the ones I didn't vote for were honorable men and American patriots that wanted what they thought was best for America.  With Obama, I wasn't so sure.  His upbringing was not in a typical American family and church, and his mentors all seemed to have a disturbing radical cast. At the time of the election, I don't think any of us really knew who Obama was, and with his lack of transparency, I'm not sure we still know who he is.  My deepest fear is that, unlike all of his predecessors, he  does not have the best for America as his primary intention.  I'm not exactly sure what he want to transform America into, but I'm pretty sure it's not the God fearing, democratic republic that our founders framed for us.

So here I am, after 60 odd years of observing American history being made by a variety of presidents, pondering the future of America.  Where are we going? Will God still bless America?  Will the exceptional American stick-to-it-iveness and pioneering spirit get us through another crisis?  Or are we doomed to be another nation in the line of Greece, Rome and Spain, with a glorious history, but a bankrupt future, both fiscally and morally?

America, it's time to humble ourselves and pray, that God will hear and heal our land once again.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14  "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.